Lazy cham or some problem ?

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Hello, should i be worried about my cham position ? He is moving freely during the day, but when the lamps turn off, she goes in that position. I think, she has some problems with one eye. I put the new linear uvb and hope everything will be fine. The new lamp has absolutly different light from the compact.

Thats just where she has decided to sleep. My cham will pick a spot about an hour before lights out and is usually in the same spot every night. He likes this one spot due to a lot of leaves around a sturdy branch.

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Do not feed mealworms to chameleons. They are nutritionally useless and can cause impaction, which is definitely something you don't want to deal with. Crickets are great, super worms should only be given as treats. Consider adding more variety: hornworms, silkworms, black soldier flies/larvae, etc. Lots of other good options out there. Just no mealworms.

As far as gutload goes, not all fruits/vegetables are created equally. While you're doing the right thing using fresh produce, make sure to look into the actual nutritional value of what you're using. Dark leafy greens like turnip greens and mustard greens are especially good.

10-15 seconds is no where near long enough of a misting session. You want to aim for at least several 2+ minute misting sessions a day, preferably with a 5-minute session in there as well for exceptional hydration. Be careful when spraying water directly into her mouth. The opening to their respiratory tract is actually in the front of their mouth and you can easily cause aspiration of water by doing that and mess with her lungs. Lots of chameleons just don't like to drink while being watched.

I would recommend upgrading her cage size, too. For female veileds, 18"x18"x36" is the recommended minimum.

It is not safe to have the lightbulbs inside of the cage like you do. Poses a serious risk of a burn for her and you also risk damaging the bulbs when you're misting. Sometimes bulbs even explode for no obvious reason, and you definitely don't want them raining down glass onto her. While we're on the topic of lighting, the UVB you are using is not at all a good choice. That's called a "compact bulb" and they are very bad at distributing UVB light, which is incredibly important to your girl's health. Please try to switch to a linear, tube-style light like a Reptisun 5.0 or an Arcadia model. You want the long bulbs for UVB. Can't stress this enough!

You need to get a thermometer inside the cage, ASAP. How are you going to know what the basking temperature is without measuring it? You can't just put a chameleon near an exposed lightbulb and hope that everything will be fine. It is critical that you carefully test the specific parameters inside her cage.

I believe lucky bamboo plant leaves are toxic to chameleons. Since veileds are plant-eaters, I would recommend removing those. The pothos and schefflera are great, though. I also notice that you aren't really utilizing the volume of your enclosure to the best of your ability. I would like to see it flushed out with more live plants and, especially, more horizontal branches especially higher up in the cage. She has a fairly limited amount of walking space so far and chameleons are explorers. She would appreciate more options for lateral movement.

Unless the soil you're using is bioactive (has springtails and isopods in it, as well as drainage), I would remove it ASAP. The soil will just collect water, mold, and provide a wonderful breeding ground for bacteria to flourish and pose a risk to your cham's health.

There are a lot of things that could be going on here. A vet visit would be your best option, if her condition doesn't improve. Poor tongue control can be related to MBD and is not something to take lightly. With your current light setup, it is not possible for her to bask and get UVB light at the same time. So, since she is probably spending lots of time by the basking bulb, she is being deprived of the UVB that is critical for her longevity.

New Member

This is the new enclosure.Everything is made by me, I only bought the bulbs, plants and branches. The dimensions are 500mm x 400mm x 1100mm. It has drainage system. I replaced the compact uvb bulb with Exo Terra 5.0 Repti Glo and also bought new reflector bulb - 75W. 15cm under the bulb, the temp is 30-32 degrees. At the bottom of the cage is 24 (That is the lowest temperature in my house ) The next think i will do is to buy more live plants. I am waiting for your comments.

New Member

I didn't want to put branches there, because it is very hot and she might get burned. My wife saw her today, she were with open mouth and i put the heating lamp a little bit higher. The humidity is always 50-80%.
Thank you for the good words

PS:BTW she is staying only on the top... don't know why. She is going a little bit lower only to eat (his bowl is there). She is not moving a lot. What could be the reason ?

Avid Member

New Member

Tongue problem still occurs. She cant hit the target if it is more than 5 cm away from her. I think that could be cause from:
1. When i bought her everything was ok. I was feeding her from tweezers and sometimes she hit them with the tongue. I dont do that anymore.
2.Compact UVB bulb - She was with it about month and a half. Now i have linear UVB Exo Terra 5.0 Repti Glo 15W.
3.Over supplementation - First month a was giving her calcium with d3 + minerals on every single cricket or roach. Then i bought calcium without d3, now i dust every single cricket with it and twice a month calcium + d3 + minerals.